Will the convention hotel be a boondoggle? Signs point to yes

A hospitality consultant has come up with numbers supporting the idea of building a 1,000-room convention hotel in downtown Kansas City, Missouri. The consultant based the report on surveys of convention planners, who were asked what kept them choosing from KC as a site for their meetings.

In this week’s Martin column, I question the consultant’s data. It seems strange to me to rely on speculative convention bookings when real-word data is available.

In recent years, several cities have opened convention hotels like the one Kansas City is considering. Why not look at what’s happened in those places?